The Takeaway: Would Hamas complicate US plans for reset with Palestinians? Also: the back story on the spat between Israel and Jordan; Gulf post-COVID economic trends; Turkey’s Kurds; Egypt and Somalia; and more! Originals
Egypt sentences activist Sanaa Seif to 18 months in prison Seif, who had been in pretrial detention since June, was convicted Wednesday of spreading false news and misusing social media. Egypt
Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error. Iran
Palestinians receive first batch of vaccines through COVAX More than 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestine
Putin, Erdogan nail down Syria deal The Russian and Turkish presidents met for more than six hours to come up with an agreement on Syria, one that might survive. Syria
Israel's Gantz must build house of cards on shaky Knesset grounds The clock is ticking now that Blue and White leader Benny Gantz has been tapped to compose a government and he faces some very tough decisions. Israel
Pakistan's diplomacy unlikely to work with Tehran, Riyadh The world can hope for, but not expect, great things to come from Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent diplomatic trips to Iran and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
Iran angles for prisoner swap deal with US Iran has sent yet another signal of readiness for a prisoner swap deal with the United States, one that could see several inmates released on both sides. United States
Israeli politicians only condemn settler violence when it targets soldiers It takes inured soldiers for Israel's politicians to speak out against settler violence, an inherent companion of the occupation. Palestine
Israeli-Arab voters succeed in forcing their will on party What Israeli-Arab voters really want is integration into Israeli politics and for their representatives to participate in governing and decision-making. Israel
What's next for Netanyahu? Although Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition, it doesn't mean he's out of the game just yet. Israel
Turkey-China economic cooperation on rise Turkey has a special place in China’s Belt and Road initiative, as confirmed by the increase in Chinese direct investment in Turkey. Turkey
Painting the town: How Kais Saied inspires change on Tunisian streets A wave of citizen-led civic campaigns is transforming the Tunisian landscape as youths inspired by the recent election of Kais Saied to be president take on some of the country’s urban woes. Tunisia
Why Egypt agreed to release Islamic Jihad detainees The Islamic Jihad’s visit to Cairo has resulted in the release of some of its members who were arrested by the Egyptian authorities during the latest anti-regime demonstrations. Palestine
Pentagon guardianship of Syrian oil fields faces pushback For days now, despite Turkish forces jeopardizing a fragile US-brokered cease-fire in northern Syria, President Donald Trump has insisted that American forces have secured oil fields liberated from the Islamic State. Syria
Who betrayed Syria’s Kurds? Before the recent Turkish intervention in northeast Syria, US officials and Syrian Kurdish leaders went back and forth on the role of US troops in the region. Syria
